SAHR lauds LBA finalisation

South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a democratic regional network of human rights defenders, welcomed the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), which was ratified for implementation between the governments of Bangladesh and India on June 7, 2015, reports UNB.
This agreement aims to address the statelessness of thousands of people living in border enclaves of both Bangladesh and India.
The Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India are taking the initiative to expedite the resolution of a contentious boundary issue regarding these enclaves prevailing since the partition of India in 1947, according to a SAHR statement.
The LBA pact swaps territories between the two countries to permanently fix the border, which stretches about 4,000km along India's eastern flank. Of the total 162 enclaves, 111 will be transferred to Bangladesh and 51 to India.
This would allow the estimated 50,000 people living in the enclaves to choose their nationality ending decades of statelessness.
The rights network hoped that both the Indian and the Bangladesh governments will facilitate implementation of this critical deal and ensure that the thousands living in enclaves are able to gain equal access to basic services and attain a more decent and equitable standard of living.